#The Bells

Ha!

I've just had the best morning.  As I was walking to work past a local church I noticed they were ringing their bells.  Being, as usual, rather intoxicated at the sound of bells I thought I'd try and record them on my phone, as you do.  I was walking towards the bell tower when someone came past me to go into the bell tower and politely asked what I was doing.  I explained that I really love the sound of bells and wanted to record it and they said would I like to come up?  So, I've just spent a lovely forty minutes, sat in the top of the bell tower, watching and listening to a lovely group of gentlefolk ring rounds and changes and patterns called things like 'The Queen's' and the 'Cambridge something or other'.  I hadn't realised how mathematical it all is… I feel a tune coming on in 'plain bob minor'.  I know I'm a total wierdo for saying this but it was brilliant fun!  

Bells by Lisa Knapp

Rested, recovering, re-connecting...

Hello there,

It appears that I have been 'inactive' since my gig in May. So, as it rather feels like I've fallen off the planet I thought I would update news on my website, if only to remind myselft that I haven't fallen of the edge of the planet!  Haha, I'm sure there are those who would actually say I'd done that years ago.  Hey ho.

Well, we had a lovely time at King's Place bck in May.  I played LOADS AND LOADS of new stuff which was both petrifying and delightful.  Then we had a small break in Spain, then weeks of 'family commitments' then, da da da, I caught chicken pox!  Big sigh.  I can tell you IT IS NOT FUN to catch chicken pox as an adult!  Gerry (partner/producer) has also been very busy in the studio finalising his wonderful 'Speech Project' album.  All things seem to have conspired these last few weeks to halt my work in its tracks and though some of the destractions are welcomed and thoroughly enjoyable I am now looking forward to switching into 'music mode' once more.

I am going to venture outside for a walk today for the first time in nearly two weeks.  I look rather 'diseased'; generously speckled with red blotches and scabs, though I am no longer infectious at least.  I will pretend I'm a rock star and put my dark glasses on (even though it's cloudy) so I can collect wierd looks from passers by and yet feel hidden by a small round disc of dark plastic, why does that work?  I kid myself really, this is London and probably no-one will notice/give a shit.  

So, I am now rested, recovering, and re-connecting with my music.  I think I might stick something on Soundcloud soon.  Just for the hell of it.  I hope you are all enjoying the summer fruits, festivals and frivolities!

Looking forward to seeing y'all somewhere soon. 

Lisa x

New Project - Song Workshop

I have jumped in at the deep end (yoikes! ahem!) and am going to start tutoring the Song Workshop as part of the Saturday music workshops at Cecil Sharp House!  I'm really looking forward to it and as somebody sage-like once said "We teach that which we most need to learn".   So, with that in mind I'm having much fun delving into the archive and literature at VWML and coming up with some beautiful, funny, sad, bizarre and wonderful folk songs.  As well as that I'm receiving advice and encouragement from all angles and feel generally grateful, if a little apprehensive, to be doing it.  The first class is Sat 29th Jan and there are six more classes till the Easter break.  The class will cover Songs from the British Isles and beyond, though the focus for the next two terms will be Gypsy and Traveller songs. It's given me a great impetus to find and look for material specifically relating to that (of which there's loads in the library).  All this amazing stuff left by those gone before, quite humbling really.   So... here's luck to me!

I'll let you know how I'm getting on...... over and out for now.  L

More info on the class here.   

Oh, and some great songs in this for anyone interested.    

LisaKnappTV, Cherries and Albert Lloyd

I have gotten round to getting myself a video recorded and have a YouTube Channel all of my own LisaKnappTV.  Hurrah!

The song is called 'I Wish My Love She Was a Cherry' and I first heard it upstairs in the Sound Archive listening room at Vaughan Williams Memorial Library at Cecil Sharp House.I was watching a very interesting documentary made about A L Lloyd as I recall called 'Bert' (a fascinating character in the story of English Folk Music and indeed World Music way before the term was invented, author in collaboration with Vaughan Williams of the classic standard 'Penguin Book of English Folk Songs').  The documentary features him singing the opening line 'I wish my love she was a cherry..' unaccompanied in his enticing manner.  I was very taken with it at the time and thought it sounded like an American song.  I obtained a copy of the 'Classic A L Lloyd' CD which contains the song listed as 'I Wish, I Wish' and began to listen more to his recordings.  I must say that I hadn't really heard him as much as I'd heard of him before but I've become very fond of his recordings and have just been made aware of a new issue of a live recording 'An Evening With A L Lloyd' on Fellside. 

I was quite surprised that this song was actually noted in a manuscript of collector John Bell who collected around the early 1800's in the Northumberland region of England.   It's often listed as 'Pitmans' Love Song' or 'I Wish My Love Was A Cherry'.

However, I can find absolutely no other examples of it listed anywhere which is very odd, suspect even, for a 'traditional' song.  Of course that doesn't mean it's necessarily not traditional but that it certainly raises the question in scholarly terms.   

Either way, I like the song with it's overtly lustful lyric and winding and intense tune.  For me it calls to my mind a handsome young man sat on some sunny bank on a beautiful day reminiscing about his girlfriend and becoming more and more, how do I say?.... enthusiastic with each verse.  It certainly has some curious imagery, though oddly more as if it were sung by a shepherd than a pitman.

I found myself with banjo in hand one evening at home and with a bit of tweaking in between the whole thing sort of fell out together and I like it like that, quite simple.  

Click here to view song.

Welcome to my new web home..........

Ta da!  With a little help from the gifted, patient and keen eyed Dom Cooper my website now firmly takes it's place amongst the cyber community.  I've been getting to grips with 'the layout' myself and will endeavour to continue putting snippets of news and info on my adventures on here.  I welcome all guests and hope you find your visit fruitful or at least entertaining a wee while.  Feel free to email me a comment or two, or just to say hello.

Best to all

Lisa x